(A) Access.
(1) The intent of these standards is to promote safe, convenient and sufficient access to all properties by vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.
(2) The following standards shall apply to all uses, unless otherwise noted:
(a) All vehicular access to a development containing multiple destinations (e.g. group developments) shall be provided by means of a shared driveway, side street or frontage road;
(b) No new driveway on any development site shall be created less than 80 feet from an existing driveway except where this prohibition would deny access to the property or where a safe sight distance cannot be achieved otherwise;
(c) No new driveway on any development site shall be created less than 80 feet from a street intersection except where this prohibition would deny access to the property or where a safe sight distance cannot be achieved otherwise;
(d) The approaches to loading and unloading areas in commercial districts shall be designed to minimize conflict with onsite vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic and with adjacent residential uses;
(e) Buildings with uses requiring public access shall provide the primary pedestrian access from the street front or from a pedestrian way designed to facilitate access in group developments or to provide a soundfront pedestrian amenity and building access; and
(f) Shared accesses between adjacent commercial properties are strongly encouraged. If a shared access is provided between properties on a shared property line, the required access setback from the side property lines shall be waived administratively as part of the site plan review process.
(B) Parking and loading/unloading areas. In order to have safe, well designed parking areas that successfully accommodate the pedestrian and are subordinate in design and appearance to adjacent buildings, the following standards apply to all accessory and principal use parking lots in all districts unless otherwise noted.
(1) Parking should be located primarily to the rear of the principal building and may be accessed from the front, side or rear of the property. No more than 2 rows of parking should be located between a primary façade and the street. (This standard shall not apply to sound front properties)
(2) New parking areas on commercial lots shall be connected unless the town determines that topography or other natural features prevents it.
(3) All off-street parking shall be served by interior circulation drives. No private off-street parking spaces shall directly connect to public streets.
(4) Parking areas under buildings are strongly encouraged, provided that adequate provisions are made for pedestrian access to buildings from the street and all parking spaces.
(C) Paving.
(1) (a) The town allows asphalt and concrete parking surfaces but encourages the use of pervious and semi-pervious materials that improve on-site stormwater management while providing safe and efficient use of the driveway, drive aisle, and parking areas.
(b) No more than 80% of the surface area of the parking area and drive aisles may be constructed using an impervious surface material.
(c) Loose stone or gravel surfaces for driveways, drive aisles, and parking spaces are permitted over a base engineered to support the commercial traffic and deliveries on the site. Such surfaces may be excluded from lot coverage calculations if the base is also pervious.
(d) When stone or gravel paving surfaces are used, a paved apron extending at least 20 feet into the property is required to minimize rocks and gravel being tracked onto the adjoining sidewalk, bike path, and roadway.
(2) Any non-paved surface used for overflow, special events, and peak parking that cannot be maintained with healthy, living turf grass or similar ground cover shall be improved with asphalt, concrete, pervious pavement, or pavers.
(3) Any non-paved surface used for parking spaces shall be improved with pavers or similar dust-free surfaces.
(D) Aisles.
(1) (a) No more than 2 parking aisles (defined as a travel lane and the parking located on each side) shall abut.
(b) Otherwise, parking aisles shall be separated from each other by planted medians which may include pedestrian walkways. (See § 156.115 below for landscaping requirements.)
(c) As an alternative for parking lots designed for any single large retail store or any shopping center containing 300 or more parking spaces, up to 4 parking aisles may abut provided the interior landscaping and design requirements for large parking lots are met within the parking lot excluding any perimeter, streetyard, internal driveway, required buffer, or other landscape area required by § 156.115 below.
(d) The maximum distance between required landscape medians shall be no greater than 250 feet.
(2) No more than 15 parking spaces shall be contiguous and adjoining in a single row of parking spaces except as provided for large parking lot landscaping and design in § 156.115 below.
(3) Aisles shall be a minimum of 20 feet in width if serving two-way traffic and a minimum of 12 feet in width if serving one-way traffic. During the site plan review process, the Fire Chief or Fire Marshal may require a drive aisle of up to 24 feet in width in specified locations if it is determined that this is necessary to accommodate fire service operations.
(4) No parking aisle serving the general public that contains more than 10 parking spaces shall deadend. Any parking aisle that deadends shall be provided a suitable turnaround.
(5) For dead end drive aisles containing less than six parking spaces, the width of the drive aisle may be reduced to no less than 18 feet.
(E) Spaces and loading/unloading areas.
(b) Shared parking areas are encouraged and shall be permitted whenever the Zoning Administrator determines that the minimum parking requirements can be met for each use.
(3) Adequate onsite turnaround area shall be provided for all parking spaces.
(4) Adequate onsite turnaround area shall be provided for all loading and unloading areas.
(Ord. 04-21, passed 10-6-2004, § 42.2.3; Am. Ord. 14-02, passed 6-4-2014; Am. Ord. 19-07, passed 12-4-2019)